This invention relates to the selective covering and lengthwise extension of the beds of vehicles such as trucks and more particularly to an articulated bed cover and extension frame unit that can be pivotally attached to the side walls of the bed of the vehicle and swung from a bed covering and stored position to a fully floored bed extension position.
Engine powered utility vehicle such as pick-up trucks having forward cabs and rear beds are generally designed to conveniently and economically haul a wide range of cargo from bulky and heavy loads to small parcels. Protective covers are frequently added to such vehicles to enclose the beds thereof and protect the cargo. See U.S. Pat. No. 6,217,103 issued Apr. 17, 2001 to Schultz et al. for Hinged Tonneau Truck Bed Cover With Bed Divider, for example. Moreover, such trucks are often lightweight, highly maneuverable vehicles and are suitable for economical personal transportation. Larger loads are often handled by positioning the tailgate to a generally horizontal position aligned with and effectively extending the truck bed. Some cage-like, upright enclosures have been provided for the extending tailgate. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,700,047 issued Dec. 23, 1977 to Leitner et al. for Truck Bed Extender. Moreover, with the progressively increasing use of such vehicles for personal transportation, cab designs evolved into larger and extended cabs for increased passenger space. Such larger cabs generally crowd into and limit the bed or cargo space. With such extended cabs and space limited beds, the need has grown for further increasing the bed space to accommodate more cargo including cargo previously carried by standard pick-up trucks including those with extensions. However, the prior tailgate and cage designs have not provided the extension that adequately meets new and higher standards and requirements for transport of increased amount of cargo or bulky cargo particularly where the existing beds are provided with a roof-like cover and substantial bed extensions are needed.
The present invention is drawn to a new and improved cover and extender unit for the beds of vehicles and particularly trucks of the pick-up type including those that have extended cabs for increased occupant seating. This invention provides the ability for vehicles with cargo beds to handle more cargo and bulky individual objects to meet new requirements and standards. In preferred embodiments of the present invention a bed cover and extender unit is provided as an accessory that can fit to a wide range of truck bed configurations and sizes to materially add to the utilitarian nature of truck type vehicles, particularly those with a forward cab and an aft bed having side walls and having a rear tailgate moveable between a closed box position and an extended position.
It is a feature, object and advantage of this invention to provide a new and improved on-board bed cover and extender unit for the bed of motor vehicles comprising a box-like frame construction having a solid top cover pivotally mounted thereto which is normally stowed within the confines of the vehicle bed and that is operatively mounted for limited pivoted movement between the stowed position and a bed extension position in which the cover converts to a bed extensions.
Another feature, object and advantage of this invention is to provide a new and improved substantially rigid cover and extender unit for the bed of a motor vehicle in which there is unique employment of the cover of the unit as the substantially linear extension of the vehicle bed. Moreover, in this invention the cover is automatically converted to a longitudinal extension of the bed by pivoting the unit from its normal stowed position in which the cover overlies the bed to an outboard position in which the cover extends rearwardly from the bed and the cover projects rearwardly from the aft end thereof.
Another feature object and advantage of this invention is to provide a new and improved cover and extender unit for the bed of a motor vehicle in which the unit has a solid cover that normally covers the bed of the vehicle and in which the unit can be displaced to provide a fully floored and walled extension of the bed and in which the displaced cover forms the floor of the bed extension.
These and another features, objects and advantages of this invention will become more apparent from the detailed description and from the following drawings.